Shame [Skammen] **** (1968, Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Gunnar Björnstrand, Sigge Fürst) – Classic Movie Review 4839

In writer/ director Ingmar Bergman’s bleak, starkly photographed (by the masterly cinematographer Sven Nykvist) 1968 futuristic war fable, a violinist couple (played by Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann) are embroiled in a civil war on the remote island of Gotland when invading forces arrive.

The great von Sydow impresses hugely, and so does Ullmann, in one of Bergman’s near-classics, both realistic and nightmarish at the same time. A highly intriguing effort, if maybe not one of his most accessible or compelling movies, this is also notable as a workable experiment in some very non-Bergman dialogue improvisation.

Also in the cast are Gunnar Björnstrand, Birgitta Valberg, Sigge Fürst, Hans Alfredson, Ingvar Kjellson, Frank Sundström and Ulf Johansson.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review  4839

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